Front Page
Foreword
Arrival
Opening
Groups
Between the Acts
Peoples' Parliament
Demonstration
European Parliament
To the President of the European Parliament
Final Plenary
Looking Ahead
Kairos Declaration
ARRIVAL
Xavier Godts, Bruxelles, BelgiqueAnd finally, on Friday, the participants gradually started arriving - from almost all over the world. They had to be met, accommodated, and fed. Naturally there are always hitches with such large-sca'le organisation, and trying to cope with different languages. But everyone found a place to stay. And in the evening, at the opening it seemed like a miracle - despite all our diversity we were gathered together as one people.
The people attending this parliament are not politicians. They are from all walks of life but have something in common: the dream ofa different Europe. The parliamentmade itpossible tounite them,strengthening their dreams and showing new ways forward.
We are women coming from Europe, from the continents of Africa, Asia, Latin America, of other peoples and cultures. We recognize our different experiences and realities as women, and, therefore, our different priorities and needs. We are conscious of the need to build genuine solidarity among our sisters worldwide by listening to each other's stories. We have come together to break the myths perpetrated about us, and heal the divisions and suspicions sown among us by the powerful.
